


Perspective

by Trystonchan



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Dystopia, Endgame Davekat, F/F, Fluff, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, M/M, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slavery, Slow Burn, Trans Dave, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-05-07 09:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19206574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trystonchan/pseuds/Trystonchan
Summary: Soon their own hand was stained in red as they applied pressure to the wound. It must have hit something important for it to be bleeding this bad. The kid didn't know too much about trolls. Only the really rich had them. News programs described them being so violent that they needed help staying calm and that humanity had saved them from killing their own race out.The kid looked down at the toll. His head was resting in his lap and dark hair spread out like a halo around it. He didn't look violent, he just looked like a kid....An alternate reality in which Earth conquerors Alternia. Trolls are seen as less than human, more as pets or objects. Dave grew up with an emotionally abusive mother before Dirk takes him in. One day Dirk and Dave come across an injured troll and take him in. A coming of age story that deals with Trans issues, self-love, in an environment with all odds against you.





	1. Dozen of F*** Icebreakers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This is my first Homestuck Fic, I recently Joined the fandom due to my lovely girlfriend and beta @Fangirl1232  
> I love reading through comments and I hope to plan to update this frequently. 
> 
> Some background:  
> I personally identify as genderfluid and I wanted to write this fic kinda for therapeutic reasons. Depression and anxiety suck and I used to write all the time in my childhood. Then I just stopped writing once college hit. I wanted to get back into it again. But while I wanted to get back into writing I also wanted to write something that would help me out with stress. This fic was born. I've never really been a Homestuck fan but my girlfriend has been in the fandom for years, it took her a while for me to finally hop on the hype train but here I am writing fanfiction for it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

 _“Today we are celebrating the 40_ _th_ _anniversary of UNF! Let us celebrate the amazing men and women who gave their lives fighting for the peace and freedom we have today. Let us all take a moment to bow our heads because without these self-sacrificing soldiers we might not even be living to celebrate this day”_

_“Let us also all remember that the trolls were a vicious race, who even killed their own kind. Now they live happier lives without- “_

The television went blank as a grunt came from the other side of the couch. A tall man stood and stretched before adjusting his pointy shades. He looked down to the smaller, identical kid down on the couch, “It’s breakfast time kiddo,” he states before moving to the kitchen. “You got school today, and it starts soon so c’mon. Table time.”

The kid in questions groans before slumping further into the couch. “But bro- “

“Nope, you promised me that if I let you stay up with me last night you would listen without protest.”

The kid lets out a sigh before complying, their white blonde hair barely grazing their shoulders as they heft themselves up on a barstool and place their elbows on the counter. Chin in hand they give their brother a wordless stare to silently protest.

“First-day kiddo, got to eat something. What do you want? Sixth grade is a big deal.” The kid’s head immediately falls onto the counter with a groan, their hands spread across the cool granite.

“Can I wear your shades?” The kid asks almost timidly looking up to their older brother, hope blazing in their red eyes.

“Why? I wear these for work, you know I gotta look cool. Besides you got some rad eyes,” the older states, putting down a bowl in front of the younger. The kid sits up and takes a bite of the cereal, a frown present on their face.

“Bro-, Dirk, please?” The younger tries again. “Last year- “

“It’s a different school. Things will be better. I’m going to go get dressed, gotta go to work after I drop you off. Did you charge your phone last night?” Dirk asks giving him an orange glared stare as he shifts his shades down.

“Yessss. It was one time I forgot. One time, not like- fifty billion.” The kid sighs eating another bite of the overly sugary cereal.

“Good, remember to send mom a picture of your first day. She’ll appreciate it.” The kid nods as the older leaves the kitchen space and disappears.

                                                                                     

* * *

 

The kid adjusted their backpack and tightened the straps. They kept their head down as other children shot them odd looks and hurried to get to homeroom. There were so many more kids here and their last school wasn’t like this. It was smaller, much smaller. But moving from a small town to Houston and going to one of the biggest middle schools in the city was going to be much different than what they were used to. The hallways were longer and big looming metal lockers stacked on each side. Several dozens of lost middle school kids lingered in these hallways. It was rather frustrating. They did have a time limit in which they needed to find and reach their homeroom. Red eyes remained firmly locked onto the destination before a loud banging just up ahead caught their attention.

“Hey four-eyes! Wearing another dumb t-shirt again?” A large sized middle schooler stood with his hands firmly buried into the graphic t-shirt of another boy with dark hair. This boy looked very scrawny especially compared to the larger. His clothes looked ill fitting; too large for his small frame. “You haven’t changed from elementary school. Still watching those dumb movies?” The larger laughs, dropping the boy hard against the metal lockers. The dark-haired boy’s head slammed back against the locker He stood slowly, stunned, and held the back of his head before looking up at the large middle schooler. “Are you retarded? I’m talking to you,” the larger boy says once more before reaching to grab at the boy again.

Red eyes move quickly away from the horrific scene before him. None of that was unfamiliar to the platinum blonde, they were just glad it wasn’t happening to them again. When they reached their homeroom, they looked at it, unimpressed. Boring white walls with overly cheerful posters plastered all over the place. Once they stepped into the room, the same boring theme that was in the hallway also appeared here. The desks were stacked in neat rows and children scattered about; some were sitting in their respective desks; others were standing around talking to friends. Their names are written on each desk and seem in no order. Each name tag was either in one of two colors; pink or blue.

“Hey sweetie, “A high pitched voice says to the kid’s left. “What’s your name? I’m your homeroom teacher. I’ll help you find your desk.” A cheerful young woman with shoulder length brown hair states before crouching to the kid’s level.

“Da- “The kid shifts their eyes up at her and grips the red straps of their backpack as the teacher interrupts.

“Oh! You’re right there, right next to John.” She says once again with the same pep as before, moving quickly to help another student, leaving the kid to find their desk.

The kid then looks to the desk the teacher had pointed to, moving closer to look at it in detail. In neat cursive handwriting is their name on the top of the desk. Glittery butterflies and flowers decorate the already pink name plate. The kid frowns just as the bell rings. Another kid who is presumed as John slides into the empty desk. His name plate has rockets and guitars and is blue.

Red eyes lock with blue as ‘John’ shoots a confident smile. Those glasses and graphic shirt are familiar– this is the kid that was being held hostage just outside the classroom door. The fact that the adults didn’t interfere at all was upsetting. The kid looks a little bruised up, but he still smiles brightly regardless.

“I’m John Egbert! Nice to meet you!” The dark-haired boy beams. “What’s your name?” He asks before pausing. “Woah, your eyes are wicked cool, can you shoot lasers or something?”

The kid pauses not ever receiving a response like that before. They then crack a smile, any jealousy about John’s cool name plate gone. This boy was cool, maybe a little dorky, but cool.

“No, man but I wish. That would be so rad. I would be like- a superhero or something,” The red eyed kid beamed back pushing blonde hair out of their eyes. “My name is Da- “

“Alright! Welcome everyone to the first day of sixth grade! I’m your teacher…”

                                                                                                                              

* * *

 

First day of sixth grade consisted of more ice breakers than should be legally allowed, and a lot of standing up and introducing themselves. In summary; it sucked. Standing in front a class and saying your name fifty billion times in front of dozens of other students that looked at you with distrust and curiosity was not a rather fun time. Things made it even worse when the other boys gave you odd looks and the other girls were trying to stay away from you like the plague. The kid just couldn’t help but wonder if it was them or their eyes.

“So, like in this movie, good ol’ Nick comes in and saves the day,” John starts to drone on; this kid was really a movie fanatic. He had already offered to have them over at his house to work their way through his serious movie collection three times already and he had just met the kid.

“Are you even listening to me?” John asks looking over at the kid when he noticed there wasn’t a response to his last question.

“Yup,” The kid responds throwing their hands into the pockets of their dark wash jeans.

“Really?” John cocked an eyebrow “Then what did I say last?” The kid opened their mouth to respond before there was a loud shout from a couple of yards away from where the two were sitting outside waiting to be picked up.

“Hey losers!” Came the voice again and then appeared the same bully from before who was holding John hostage in the hallway. “Oh, look loser John found himself a _girlfriend_ ~” The taller middle schooler teases, towering over the two shorter. The kid stands up, a frown twitching upon their face and their hands tightening in the red t-shirt that they were wearing. 

“Oh, shut up!” John then stands up. He’s a bit taller than the kid. “Just pick on me but not _her,”_  he says defiantly looking the bully in the eyes. This was much different than the time before. The kid wasn’t used to anyone trying to defend them.

“Oh, look John finally grew a backbone too,” the bully continues. “ _She_ isn’t even cute Egbert. Well I guess that’s fair though; ugly falls for weird,” the bully says with a shrug. “I mean look at those eyes. Are you an inbreed or something _girl_?” He sneered, twisting his face into a horrid expression.

The kid in question simply just looked at the bully. This really was nothing new to them. Red eyes were a genetic trait in their family, Bro had them as well. Being teased about the color was also nothing new, it didn’t mean the kid didn’t dislike it any less.

“Stop it!” John rushes at the bully and places his hands flat on the large middle schoolers chest and pushes with all the strength he had, which honestly wasn’t much. John arms could be comparable to noodles. It’s enough force though that the tall middle schooler stumbles but doesn’t lose his footing. The bully’s shocked expression then darkly shifts. The kid could feel the tension in the air, and fear prickled on their skin. They wanted John to stop before he got hurt.

“Don’t mess with _her_ ,” John yells, standing in front of the kid defensively. The kid honestly didn’t need any help in the defense department. They certainly knew how to defend themselves. Bro was very adamant that they take self-defense lessons starting a couple of months ago due to having problems at their last school.  The kid really had never had someone stand up for them before. It was quite refreshing. Maybe John would end up being a good friend. On the other hand, it would be better to just ignore the bully. This was just an attention ploy and John was falling right into it.

“The weak little _girl_ can’t defend herself, or does _she_ need the help of this loser?” The bully sneers and towered over the other two. He reaches and grips at the kid’s red shirt; bunching the red fabric tightly in his hands.

They hated that word. _Girl._ Why was it always that word? Why were they always just seen as a _girl?_ They felt no connection to that word, but everyone only saw them as _that._

“Answer me you red eyed little freak!” The bully calls out after not receiving a response. Growing irritated he pulled tighter on the fabric; lifting the kid slightly off their feet. The kid tenses and struggles in the hold.

“Shut up!” The kid calls before biting down hard on the hand holding them. The bully lets out a loud yelp in response before dropping the kid suddenly and holding his hand eye level to inspect it.

“You just fucking bit me- y-you freak!” The bully stumbles.

“Yeah I did. Since you can’t seem to get the memo that it isn’t nice to mess with people! So, take my advice and go learn some effiing manners. Or at least pick on someone in your skill level” The kid mocks back leaving the bully wide eyed.

John looks equally stunned as the bully now has tears welling in his eyes and proceeds to back down.

“Next time you want to be an ass, I’ll personally show you to the correct department of I’m going to kick your ass. Got it?” They say again now that the bully is in retreat, mumbling something about the kid’s eyes and gender.

“That was so cool!” John exclaims looking at the kid before a loud car horn stops the two children in their tracks. The two kids look in the direction of the sound, pulled up to the curb was a sleek sliver 97’ Chevy. John tensed and looked nervously at the blonde kid.

“That’s my dad, I gotta go but I’ll see you tomorrow!” John waves before slinging his backpack onto his shoulder leaving the kid by themselves. The kid waved bye to John before slumping back down on the grass and sighed. Dirk was going to be late. Dirk was always late.

The same problems from their last school had followed them here too it seemed. Laying out on the grass and looking up at the moving clouds was nice. It was a rather good distraction. Nature really wasn't appreciated anymore, so laying back and taking the time to was nice. The adrenaline from beforehand was finally leaving their system.  Hopefully tomorrow would be different, maybe tomorrow people would see them less for their eyes and gender and more as just a person. Maybe tomorrow the name plates would all be red, and no one would say  _'Why is that your name, it doesn't fit you’._ They were all right it didn't fit. Nothing seemed to fit. The older the kid came to be the more they realize that it was becoming frighteningly more awkward living in their own body... They remember a time where it didn't matter if you were a  _boy_ or a  _girl_ it just mattered who could run faster or had the biggest bug collection. 

This was all that damn video's fault. The cursed puberty video that they were all forced to watch last year. All the kids in fifth grade had to separate  _boy_ and  _girl._  The girls all had to watch one video and the boys the other. It wasn't fair. They all had to be held hostage and watch all these horrible changes that were going to be happening to their bodies and the kid didn't want any of it. They remember coming home that night and crying; hating what their body was going to do to them. It was then the kid decided that their name and body didn't fit, that they didn't want it. Their mother was furious when they told her. Her reaction brought the kid to tears. The kid didn't cry much but when they did it all came out.

                                                                  

* * *

 

“How was sixth grade, kiddo?” Dirk asks, taking the kid’s red Sports backpacks when they enter the car. The older shoves it in the back before examining his younger sibling and placing both hands on the wheel.

“Something happened today, didn’t it?” He asks again as the kid shuts the car door and glances at the other. They shrug and then adjusts, pulling their seatbelt on. They could never hide anything from their brother, they were just too good. The kid takes a breath and fiddles with the seatbelt strap sighs. “I’m not moving until you start talking,” says his brother again, taking his shades off and lifting a brow. The kid returns the stare. They could be just as stubborn or even more so.

"I don’t want to talk about it,” the kids says stubbornly.

“But before getting in the car you look liked you wanted to cry. I know that look. Remember your promise,” Dirk says rather sternly.

The kid narrows their eyes at the older before the sound of a horn interrupted their thoughts.

“I can do this all-day kiddo; we aren’t moving until you spill. I got some energy bars and drinks in the back and some blankets and we’ll camp out right in this spot. You’ll be super on time for school tomorrow.” The kid let out a louder sigh _. Seriously_?

“Your promises are like making deals with the devil,” the younger mutters. “But, fine. I got picked on, okay? Like I always do. What’s new. It’s my eyes -and...” their voice trails off and their thin lips shut immediately.

“And?”

“Nope,” the younger responds crossing their arms over their chest.

“You can’t just build up the suspense like that and leave me hanging. I’m the expert of storytelling kiddo, you gotta spill, or beware hanging out all night with me, in this car.”

“Fine!” The kid says running their hands through their hair and gripping at it.

“I don’t know what it is, it’s like- an out of body experience or something. Nothing feels right. My body feels gross, my name- I’ve had to say my name in front of the whole class more times than effing necessary and it feels horrible every single time. I’ve never been a big fan of my name but more so now. It’s like telling the whole class that I’m the super rad Obama when I’m not. I feel like I’m lying and now everyone only sees me as that name and as a _girl_. No one likes me because I don’t act like one. My stupid name plate had these stupid glittery stickers on it and John’s was blue. Blue! Can you believe it? He had my second favorite color and I just got pink like the rest of the _girls_? He had guitar stickers on his too. I love the guitar.” The kid slumped in the passenger seat not stopping once to take a breath in their speech.

The two don’t say anything for a while but it’s nice. It gives the older brother a chance to absorb the information and gives the younger time to relax.

After a while Dirk put his shades back on and places his hands back on the wheel, moving from park to drive. “I say let’s go get you some shades. I’ll take you to where I got these,” he says, tapping the edge of his glasses. The kid feels so relieved when the car starts to move again. It did feel better to get it all out, but it still sucked. “We’ll go get you some awesome shades and then go out for some Thai food? We’ll go to our favorite place. How does that sound?”

The kid nods, “Yeah that sound pretty effing amazing.”

Thai food and some shades like their bro. It sounded good. Really good.

* * *

 

Upon exiting the restaurant, food in hand, the two siblings joke with each other. Dirk tries to throw the younger off-balance by running into them but the younger quickly retaliates after regaining their footing. The kid adjusts their new shades with one hand and balances their Styrofoam box of food in the other. 

"Well Kiddo, it's been a long day but I'm assuming it wasn't all bad?" Dirk looks down at the kid before ruffling the shoulder length blonde hair. The kid smiles up at him and shakes their head. 

"No, it wasn't all bad, I made a friend at least," the kid responds shrugging their shoulders.

The sun has set long ago but both the Striders kept both of their glasses firmly on their faces. It was dark and hard to see but both managed. The kid let out a relaxed sigh and let their tense shoulders drop down. The air was fresh and not humid like it normally was and there was a light airy feeling in the atmosphere. At least going to class tomorrow was going to be more bearable. Just like their bro no one would be able to touch them; they would be the perfect picture of cool.

They had to park rather far from the restaurant due to limited(free) parking in the busy city, but the walk was nice, and the food smelled even nicer.

"Friends are good," Dirk commented, wrapping a free arm around the younger. They passed serval dark alleyways on the way back to the car, normally sights like that would make a kid nervous especially at dark but the kid knew that both could handle themselves. The kid shrugged their older brother’s protective arm off their shoulder without commenting on it and Dirk understood the message.

The car was in sight and the kid continued a little way ahead of their brother. Something felt off as soon as the kid had managed to spot the car, the light feeling in the air was gone and a faint copper tinge was filtering through it. The kid stopped and turned to look back at their brother.

Dirk had paused a little way back. He had taken his shades off and his red eyes were squinting in the little to no light.

"Dirk?" The older didn't even spare him a glance as he shushed them. 

The older took a step off the sidewalk and into the nearest alleyway, the darkness enveloped his figure and soon left the kid frantically looking into the alleyway for their bother.

"Shit, " Came the rugged voice of Dirk from the darkness. "Stay right there kid" 

They did. The kid had removed their own shades with their freehand and squinted into the darkness to find any sign of Dirk. They hear a rustle of moment and then the sound of fabric ripping. There are a couple of grunts and the kid's pulse couldn’t seem to steady itself. Their hands were starting to sweat and shake.

_What was going on?_

The kid's stryforam box slipped from their hand and landed on the floor, spilling its context all over the concrete.

Dirk reemerged from the darkness, red painted some of his face and covered his hands. His hands held a small kid who was covered in red.

_It was a troll._

The troll was curled in Dirk’s arms as he held him bridal style. He was small, possibly smaller than the kid himself. The grey skin seemed rather pale. Red was gushing all around him. It looked like Dirk had tried to stop the bleeding by ripping some of his shirt and tying it around the troll's wounded midsection but now the cloth was stained in red. _Who would do this to a kid?_

"Kid, I need you to help me get him in the car. He's really hurt, okay?" The kid didn't even have time to nod as their feet moved, doing exactly what the older had asked. 

They quickly got the troll situated in the car. Dirk didn't seem bothered at the possibility that his seat was going to be stained. It was an old car anyway. He Instructed the kid to get in the back with the troll and monitor the bleeding and if they could, apply pressure. The kid didn't really understand what was going on, but they wanted to help.

Soon their own hand was stained in red as they applied pressure to the wound. It must have hit something important for it to be bleeding this bad. The kid didn't know too much about trolls. Only the really rich had them. The kid remembers hearing from news programs that they were being so violent that they needed help staying calm and that humanity had saved them from killing their own race out. They were described as unintelligent, and murderous. 

The kid looked down at the toll. His head was resting in his lap and dark hair spread out like a halo around it. He didn't look violent, he just looked like a kid. 

"How's he doing back there, kiddo?" Dirk asks from the driver’s seat. He sounded tense was speeding.

 "Good?" The kid tries. "He is bleeding really bad bro," they pause trying to adjust to apply more pressure to the wound. "Where are we going?" 

"A friend of mine can help him. We'll be there soon." The older says again and the kid directs his attention back to the troll’s face. He definitely looks like he had seen some shit as well. 

 After they had parked, the next couple of minutes passed like a blur. Dirk had taken the boy from the kid and rushed inside uncharacteristically fast.  The kid had tried to keep up but once Dirk had exited the waiting area the kid was no longer allowed to follow.

"Hey hon, everything is going to be okay," the receptionist says, peering down at them from her spot at the check-in desk.  

The kid looked around the waiting room. It was desolate, not another person in sight. The kid looked over to the glass door that was the entrance. The hours sign had said they had been closed for an hour. So why had they let Dirk in? The place also appeared to be a vet clinic. The kid swiveled around to look at the waiting room to see that there were framed pictures on the wall of children with dogs and elders with cats. This was a veterinary clinic.

_Why were they here?_

“You look a little lost hon, you okay?” The receptionist asks looking down at the kid with concern.

“Why are bro and I here, do you know my brother?” They ask, turning to look at the receptionist fully.

“Well Dr. English and your brother Dirk have been friends for a long time, they also work together somewhat,” she says. “Also, it’s not very common that a regular doctor’s office has knowledge of troll biology,” she continued, letting the kid fill in the blanks.

“You should be able to go back there soon, that troll your brother brought in had lost a lot of blood and it’s probably a sight you shouldn’t be seeing, or one your brother didn’t want you to see.” The kid nodded.

“There’s a bathroom right there.” She points a well filed finger to her right. “If you want to wash up.” The kid looks down at their bloodied hands and agree, they really should wash up.

“Yeah, thanks,” the kid says before walking in the direction of the bathroom.

After trying not to smear red on every surface the kid finally manages to open the bathroom door, closes it and then locks it.

They immediately eye the sink and carefully turn the knob with their elbows before placing their hands under the cool running water

The kid watches as their skin fades from bright red back to its usual pale color, and red swirls along the porcelain sink.

_Wow… Today has been crazy_

* * *

 

It wasn’t long after the kid made themselves comfortable in the waiting room that their brother reappeared, exhausted and even more bloodied than when he went inside.

“Jake, I don’t know if I can take care of him and _her_ ,” Dirk says looking exasperated. He’s holding the troll once more and the boy seemed to look even smaller now. They had him wrapped in a hospital gown underneath a big fluffy towel. The boy was still dead to the world in their brother’s arms but at least now he wasn’t covered in his own blood.

“Just for a little bit, please?” The doctor pleaded, now making an appearance. “Just until we can find him a safe home. I mean look at him, he has to be the same age as little _Dani._ ” The kid flinched.

“Just for a little bit Jake, if Lucinda thinks for a second that _she_ is in any danger _she’ll_ be taken from me,” their brother now says in a hushed tone, the kid must strain to even hear it. “ _She_ can’t go back to her, not on my watch,” Dirk says even quieter.

“Just for a little, Dirk, I promise. Just until we can find a better home for him, you know someone that is preferably with the organization.” Jake says again looking at the troll in Dirk’s arms and ruffles his dark hair.

“This one is just a kid. Text me when he wakes up. Now go get your _sister_ home.” The kid flinches again and then stands when they see Dirk making his way over.

The ride back is almost completely silent.

“So, he’s going to be staying with us for just a little bit, is that cool?” Dirk asks his shaded eyes leaving the road once to look at the kid.

“Yeah it’s cool,” the kid responds.

It seems to take forever but they make it home finally, the kid is having a hard time fighting sleep, but they manage to make it up to their apartment without too much of a hassle.

Dirk sets the troll gently down on the sofa before covering him with a light blanket.

“Off to bed kiddo, it’s way past your bedtime, you still have school tomorrow.” Dirk says looking front the troll to the kid.

“I really have to go to school tomorrow? After all this?”

“Yep, I’m not letting you miss. The second day is important” The older says flashing a tired smile.  

The kid then turns on their heel. The second day was just as dumb as the first, but they were honestly too tired to argue.

…

After a couple of hours of restless sleep, the kid sighed and kicked their covers off. Their phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. They honestly didn’t know anyone who would be this persistent to get in touch with them. They hadn’t even given John their number.

The kid sits up and blindly reaches for the cheap flip phone and swings it open.

 

10:07

Mom

 _Danielle_ , You and Dirk have not responded to any of my messages today. If neither of you do not call me tomorrow, I will be there to come pick up and take you home. Your brother has the audacity to call me a bad parent when he refuses to answer his phone and leave his mother worried? All I wanted to know was how your first day went. Call me tomorrow. Sweet dreams my sweet _girl_ XoXo – Mom

 

There was a moment where the kid had to reread the message several times due to not being able to understand the words. They were able to look at the words and to know what the words said away from each other but when it was altogether it burned. _Danielle_ , _my sweet girl_. It burned.

The kid slammed their phone shut and tossed it on the bed before standing up and exiting their room. _They would not cry_. She wouldn’t make them cry. Not anymore.

The kid padded into the living room after passing Dirk’s closed door, making their way to the fridge and pulled it open They had to shield their eyes from the intense light but once they blinked a couple of time and adjusted they were able to reach for a water bottle and shut the door.

They chugged the bottle before emptying it completely and crushing it in their hands. That made them feel a little better. Just a bit. They tossed the bottle into the recycle bin before hearing a rustle from the couch.

Curiosity replaced anger and the kid took a look. Completely forgetting about the boy on the couch the kid was shocked once again to see him curled on his uninjured side. The light from the window pressed against the troll’s face allowing the kid to see a couple of freckles they hadn’t seen before. The kid also now noticed a pair of small horns that were easy to miss due to the mop of tangled hair.

The kid let a smile come to their once distraught face. This boy looked so peaceful, and he must be coming from a hell of a situation too. He was staying with them for a little bit so maybe they could be friends. The kid had never seen or talked to a troll before, it would be interesting.

The kid’s musing didn’t last long before their own eyes refocused into a pair of grey. The kid frantically stepped back as the noticed the troll was now awake and growling at him. Short but sharp fangs were barred, and the boy’s face was contorted with anger.

_“Where the fuck am I?”_


	2. A work in progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I really didn't mean for this chapter to take this long but, I was just having a hard time staying motivated. Good news is while I wasn't feeling motivated an outline was written! So I now know more or less of what I'm doing and where I'm going. Also, chapter three is being written so hopefully maybe I can get that out in a week. only time will tell!
> 
> Thank you to my lovely beta: @Fangirl1232

_“Where the fuck am I?”_

 

Red eyes widened as they took a step back their hand touching the plain wall behind them. Fear wasn’t really a feeling they were used to. The kid had been up against countless other kids their age or older and never felt this way. They were never afraid. But this feeling-- this was fear.

 

The troll attempted to stand. He clutched his side where the injury reopened and red started to spill onto the hospital gown he was wearing. He gasped in pain before falling back on the couch, hair falling into his eyes. He let out a noise of frustration before those same grey eyes flickered the ceiling in annoyance.

 

"Stop, you're hurting yourself," the kid calls, fear ebbing away into concern as they push away from the wall and approach the troll. The troll's head snapped up to look at the kid as the human approached and he growled once more holding his side, blood now painted his small grey hands. The kid paused shortly, examining the other before beginning to approach. Throwing caution to the wind. They eventually closed the gap between the two and moved to inspect the wound.

 

There was a shocked yell and the world spun as the blonde slammed into the hardwood floor, hair cascading around them. They lay dazed as the troll straddled them holding a hand to their throat. Sharp nails dug into soft flesh.

 

“I’m going to say it one more time you bulgelicker, get it into your stupid tiny human brain that you don’t fucking touch me. Now, Where the fuck am I?” He growls clutching tighter, his wound his bleeding profusely staining the hospital gown with stains that the kid knew even the best of stain remover would not be able to get out of the white cloth.

 

Breathing was becoming increasingly more difficult and the only thing the kid could focus on was trying to breathe in and out. They focused on the troll’s face. There were a couple of scars one right below his lip and the other close to his right eye, but the troll had such a babyface. They couldn’t be too much apart in age. The kid's hand went slack, and their body relaxed, and the troll held tighter. He felt so tired…

 

A weight was lifted, and the kid took a deep breath. His eyes refocused to see the shadowy surface of the ceiling and then a pained sound brought his attention to Dirk holding the troll. His tiny arms were twisted painfully behind his back while Dirk’s large hand encompassed both and held tight. His arm wrapped around the slim grey neck and applied a small amount of pressure.

 

The kid coughed and sat up watching as the troll struggled in Dirk’s hold. Red painted their own pajamas as the soft cotton stuck to their frame like glue. Their movements felt slow and sluggish as they watched the scene before them.

 

“Dirk,” the kid winced at how raspy their voice was. “He’s bleeding,” they rasp out again. Sitting up was much harder when you were trying to catch your breath. The kid made a mental note as they were using most of their focus to keep themselves sitting. The kid held their arms behind themselves to keep steady, their vision was slowly coming back to normal as they blinked, staring up at the face of the troll. He was frightened.

 

“He was on you Dani; I’m not going to let him go. Until he relaxes, I’m not letting him go,” Dirk grunts watching as the troll struggled in his hold. He was spitting out curses and kicking despite his injury. The kid didn’t have to time flinch as they hefted themselves up using the wall as a support and wobbling over to their brother before weakly tugging on Dirk’s pale arm. Red was streaking down the troll’s leg and dripping onto the floor and the kid saw the hazy look in his grey eyes.

 

“He’s fucking hurt. Dirk, let him go!” The kid pulls hard on the arm wrapped around the troll’s neck, summoning strength he didn’t know that he had. The troll falls; barely having time to use his hands to brace himself.

 

Orange eyes look directly into red, and in a moment of silence, neither of them says anything. Ragged breaths come from the troll collapsed on the floor. His arms are shaking and red drops from his face. Damn, did he injure himself further?

 

“Fuck you two,” It almost comes out as unintelligible do to the raspy nature of the troll’s voice.

 

The kid just stares at the troll as he tries to regain his breath. Neither of the humans approached. Dirk lets out a curse before moving swiftly in the direction of the bathroom. Dave tries to approach the troll once more.

 

“You’re at my brother’s apartment. Center in the heart of Houston- “

 

“I know- fuck!” Grey eyes meet theirs once more before he curls in on himself clutching the wound.  The kid looks down at him unimpressed.

 

“Will you relax?” The kid says crouching down to the troll’s level. They can’t see anything due to the hospital gown soaked in the other's blood. Due to the sheer amount of the crimson liquid, they know it isn’t good.

 

“Did you just tell me to relax? I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you just tell me to fucking relax? Listen here you ignoramus example of a worthless human. A pathetic excuse of an infant- “he started to cough violently before Dirk returns sweeps him up quite literally to place him back on the stained couch. He lets out a gasp at the sudden movement.

 

The troll now was laying on his back, hand tightly clutching the wound and lips slightly parted in shallow pants. His messy hair now laid back showed off his forehead. His tired eyes now met with the kid's own red ones.

 

“Kid get the light- I’m going to have to re-bandage him and maybe call Jake.”

 

The light is flipped on and the troll lets out a groan.

 

“A little fucking warning next time,” Grey hands move from his wound to cover his pair of eyes as he squints at Dirk who is taking out the gauze in their very well-stocked first aid kit. The kit itself was massive, why the heck did they need all these things anyway? It was pretty rad that Dirk was so well prepared, but it looked like there was enough supplies to aid the entire world and whatever else was the fuck out there too. Granted the kid hadn’t been living at their brother's for a rather long time but was something like this a common occurrence? They couldn’t help but wonder.

 

The kid watches as Dirk proceeds to remove the blood-stained gown to access the wound, he pushes the crinkly fabric high up to the troll’s torso before taking a second to inspect look the wound.

 

“You humans are so fucking dumb, I said to stop touching me,” The trolls say weakly trying to fight back but proving unsuccessful as his eyes start to droop. The blood loss was finally getting to him. He tries to kick at the taller male, but Dirk simply caught it with his free hand and sets the appendage down gently.

 

Dirks body was shielding the small troll but the older lets out a hiss as he sees the wound.

 

“’m not ‘hat bad, had worse,” Says a raspy voice and the owner of said wound.

 

“Kid back to bed- I’m going to call Jake,” Dirk says before ripping the gauze with his teeth. “The stitches we put in earlier tore. I’m going to give him something for pain and clean this mess up.”

 

“I’m going to stay and help-,” Bro shoots them a hard glare before turning to the massive box that was the first aid kit and taking out what the kid assumes is a pain killer.

 

“Fine, I get it,” The says before making the trek back to their room. Grey eyes meet his once more before the kid sees them slip closed. His angry, pained face relaxes, and the kid knows that the other kid was indeed out.

 

* * *

 

The sun peeked in behind red curtains that were haphazardly thrown together. The kid let out a groan before throwing an arm over their sensitive eyes. Red peers at the ceiling above before moving stray blond hair out of their face. Last night was a trip.

 

Bare feet touched the cold hardwood floor of their room. Boxes littered around the room. Most were empty others were half full. They really needed to finish unpacking, they had moved in with their bro a couple of months ago at the beginning of summer, there was really no excuse not to be unpacked by now. The mess didn’t really bother them. Dirk was rather messy himself, the kid before had stumbled into the kitchen on several occasions with different metal parts scattered around and their brother sitting in the center of the mess in a simple tank working on something; it probably just ran in the family.

 

They stood, sliding their shades on before looking upon the red splotches on their pajamas. Gross.

 

Their phone was lost somewhere on the bed, but the kid didn’t see it as too much as a big deal. After changing into a new set of clothes they made their way into the kitchen. There wasn’t a clock in their new room, so the kid assumed school was a no go for today.

 

They rounded the corner to see Dirk manning the stove; pan in hand. The troll was surprisingly up as well. Are those my clothes?  The said troll sat at the bar clothed in an old set of the kid's own clothes. A red set of Power Ranger pajamas fit appropriately over grey skin. Dirk must have stolen them in the middle of the night out of their dresser.

 

Grey eyes met with theirs before looking back down to the bowl in front of himself and taking another spoonful.

 

“Morning, sunshine,” Bro calls looking down at the pan in his hands. “School has been temporarily put on pause because of last night. After breakfast and a quick change of clothes for you and I’ll drop you off. I’m going to take Karkat here up to the vet to see Jake”

 

“Karkat?” The kid questions before meeting eyes with the troll once more.

 

“Yeah, that’s my name don’t fucking wear it out.”

 

The kid only gives him an annoyed stare before moving to also sit at the bar, a seat in between them for precautions.

 

The troll looked much different in the light. His skin looked lighter and other than the red pajamas he was rather monotone. Grey eyes, grey skin, and black hair. The only bit of coloring came from his eyes and nails which were surprisingly yellow. The kid didn’t know if that was natural or it just signified that the troll was sick. He seemed fine now, Dirk must of done a good job of patching him up last night. Clean white bandages could be seen peeking right above the red collar of the PJ’s.

 

“Stop fucking staring, “ Karkat snaps letting out a low growl. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

 

“I was just appreciating your ugly mug,” the kid grins in retaliation.

 

“Oh, fuck you, whatever your name is. I don’t know why you humans are helping me. I was fine where I was. Now you idiots are going to get me in even more trouble when they find me. So, congrats.”

 

Dirk turns around and places a plate of eggs and bacon down on the table before taking off his oven mitts.

 

“You aren’t going to be in more trouble. For right now, as I’ve already explained this is your temporary home. I’m Dirk and this is- “

 

“Dave,” the kid panics before Dirk turns to them and raises a blonde brow above his shades. There would be a talk about this later the kid could feel it.

 

“Dave.” Dirk pauses settling the word in his mind. “And, you weren’t fine. We found you bleeding out. Which by the way. Rip you stitches one more time and I’ll tie you to the couch or worse, you’ll be contained to the operation room at the clinic and I’ll have Jake deal with you.” Dirk places his hands on his hips after sliding a plate to ‘Dave’ and getting one for himself.

 

Karkat reaches for the food before Dirk slaps his hand away and the kid looks to Dirk in surprise. “Jake said nothing heavy for now, not until he can give you a proper checkup, besides I know nothing about troll biology. I’ll be in deep shit if this kills you,” Dirk explains taking a seat between the two as Karkat cradles his hand in annoyance.

 

“Death by bacon how ironic,” ‘Dave’ lets out a laugh adjusting their shades.

 

“I’ve had bacon before you imbeciles, if bacon could do something as powerful as end my life then, the world would be a much darker and shit-stained than it is now, and that, is saying something.” The troll grumbled before taking another bite of his cereal.

 

* * *

 

The car ride to school was even more awkward than breakfast. The kid had dressed in a simple t-shirt with a plaid button-up thrown over it. They sat behind the passenger seat while the troll sat behind Dirk, who was in the driver seat. In retrospect, the kid now wishes they sat in the empty in front to avoid any eye contact.

 

The kid kept noticing how the other would glance at him and then when ‘Dave’ would catch him his eyes would quickly go to the window. After a while, the act was getting tiring.

 

“Dude, I can see you looking at me,” the kid finally says after the fourth or so time of catching the other staring.

 

“I am not,” he tries to argue before his eyes cast downward. “I’ve never seen a human kid before. You look weird that’s all,” Karkat mutters and the kid’s eyebrows raise in surprise behind his shades.

 

“Well I’ve never seen a troll before so we're even,” the kid says with a smile before turning and holding a handout for the other to shake as a sign of peace.

 

Karkat only looks at the extending limb with a scowl as the car came to a stop. The kid glances out the window to eventually see the red-bricked prison that they dread.

 

“What the fuck are you trying to do?” The troll asks as the kids’ attention snaps back to him.

 

“It’s a handshake,” He says now moving to gather the things and strapping his bag onto his back. “It’s-“

 

“I gotta get to Jake’s kiddo, I’m already late for work,” Dirk turns and cuts, the kid can already feel the pointed look matching his shades.

 

“Never mind, tell you later,” the kid calls kicking the door open and shutting it firmly behind themselves.

 

* * *

 

The kid dumped their lunch box onto the table only to grin when a startled John turned to look at them.

 

“Whoa, I thought for sure you were ditching today,” John smiles taking another bite out of his lunch. “Cool shades by the way, but you do know we are indoors, right?” He then asks as the as mentioned shaded kid takes a seat next to him.

 

“Yeah, I know,” they smile back starting to open their own lunch. “Did I miss anything important yet?” They ask pulling out a sandwich along with other supplies they had packed that morning.

 

“No, not really. Mrs. Thompson gave us some math homework, but we just went over syllabuses and class constitutions. Really boring stuff actually,” John sighs. “I feel like ‘poof!’ there goes three hours of my life, gone!”

 

“Had a feeling nothing important would happen, like the first week of school is totally bogus. Also, did you say math homework?” The kid raises their eyebrows in shock, blonde creeping over the edge of the glasses. “Shit man, that sucks,”

 

John suddenly goes quiet after a moment and he picks at his food. His fork sliding through gross cafeteria slush. The change in mood was concerning.

 

“What?” The kid asks finally. John suddenly going quiet was a new thing. The kid was very done with awkward stares and silences after today. After all the staring Karkat gave him this morning, this kid was done. People need to voice their fucking issues.

 

“Ah, it’s really nothing. You just said something we’re not really supposed to say,” John mumbles awkwardly looking solely at his food.

 

“Sucks? Bogus? Oh shit, you mean ‘shit’, right?” The kid lets out a laugh teasing the other boy.

 

“Hey! You’re going to get us in trouble,” John whines before lowering his voice, “Come on Danielle it's not funny. We really aren’t supposed to say that word,” The kid flinches and side-eyes John.

 

“My Bro says it all the time. Relax, it’s fine. I say it at home, no one cares,” The kid responds turning now to look at John.

 

“What about your parents wouldn’t they care?” He asks raising an eyebrow skeptically at the other kid.

 

“Yeah probably,” they shrug. “But my mom’s pretty lame. I don’t live with her anymore. Just me and Bro. Two bros living in an apartment. It’s totally cool.” John lets out a laugh. ‘Dave’ smiles at the fact their joke made their friend laugh, their jokes are the coolest, always.

 

“That’s funny,” John says innocently. “You can’t be two ‘bros’,” He comments and the kid pauses. “You’re a _girl_ ”.

 

The kid freezes. Their smile fades. There’s a pause between the two. John is still smiling but the cafeteria seems to fall silent; Faces move with anything coming out of it and John is laughing, talking like normal. Nothing comes out. Cotton feels like it's being roughly taken out of the kids ears before they finally blink, and sound comes back to them. It’s loud and even through their glasses, everything seems so bright. Coming back to their senses they focus on John.

 

Wow, that really struck a nerve.

 

“Yeah, whatever. It doesn’t really matter. We're two bros just chilling,” The kid crosses their arms and John falls silent, picking at their food once more. He sighs.

 

“Did you not hear what I just said? We’re not even talking about that anymore,” he laughs, and the kid feels sick. Lunch looks unappetizing. Did I really miss that much?

 

“I asked what your Pester Chum handle is,” he reiterates.

 

“Pester Chum?” The kid asks pausing to give the boy a questionable look.

 

“Yeah you know, the instant messaging program. Oh, come on, you haven’t heard of it? It’s like really popular, they just came out for an app for it too.” John explains taking out his phone to point to an app with a yellow smiley face.

 

“Sounds dumb,” the kid retorts.

 

“It’s really not, I promise,” John smiles putting his phone away. “Well if you ever download it my handle ghostyTrickster.”

 

“That also sounds dumb”

 

“Hey, no fair. I bet yours will be equally as dumb. Besides I like it,” and with that John trails on leaving the kid to nod every once in a while, and takes small bites of their food.

 

Lunch is still unappetizing.

 

The period doesn’t last too much longer before the bell rings and the two friends pack up their unfinished food. It’s back to the regular school day and the kid is not too thrilled. Back to syllabuses and writing class constitutions well and maybe finally getting that math homework from John.

 

* * *

The kid opened the car door after waving bye to John. They slumped in the passenger seat, slinging their backpack to the back.

 

“You’re here early. What happened to the ‘I’m always fashionably late BS’,” The kid says turning to their bro, clipping their seat belt into place.

 

“Had to skip out on work today, so I came by early,” Dirk says adjusting his shades and then places his hands back on the wheel. The kid nods in response

 

“Where’s Karkat?” The kid asks.

 

“Well the stupid kid ripped his stitches again, so he’s at home on bed rest. Doc gave him some pretty heavy pain killer, so he’s been in and out of it,”

 

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave him alone?” The kid asks looking out the window.

 

“The kid is completely out of it, trust me. He gave me a hell of a time at Jake’s though, He wouldn’t answer any questions about what had happened to him, and when we tried to draw some blood for testing, he freaked and tore his stitches that I had just fixed up last night. We had to sedate him. He’s woken up once since then, he was completely out of it though. Got him a bottle of water and left him a couple of Saltines.”

 

“Really, Saltines?” The kid snickers.

 

“Jake said that for right now with the meds it would be best. I really don’t want troll vomit on the floors. I still have to get his blood out of the backseats,” He says pointing with his thumb to the back. They continue a moment in silence. The kid looks out the window resting their head in hand and elbow on the ledge.

 

After a while, Dirk takes a breath and the kid can feel eyes on him.

 

“There’s something I do want to talk to you about though,” Dirk starts his voice stern. It was rare to hear this tone of voice from their Bro. The kid felt chills. Normally bro was just a giant dork, something that the kid-related heavily to. They may have only been half-siblings, but the kid really admired him.

 

“Yeah?” The kid asks quirking an eyebrow.  

 

“I just want to know why you’re suddenly ‘Dave’ now,” Dirk says in a casual tone and the kid shrugs.

 

Dirk sighs. It's audible, and the kid can hear the frustration filtering though.

 

“Look kid, I just want to understand. It’s really not that big of a deal,” Dirk pauses, “Is this what you want me to call you?” He asks sincerely looking over at the kid briefly before his eyes go back to the road. They turn into their complex and the kid already wants to leap from the car.

 

The kid shrugs again and Dirk pulls to a stop, their apartment in sight. The kid feels like screaming. Dirk puts the car hazards on.

 

_“Danielle”_

 

“Fuck! Yes fine. I hate it. It reminds me of her. My name reminds me of her. I just don’t like it. It doesn’t feel right,” The kid finally gives, frustrated. “I don’t know how I feel about it, okay? I just don’t like that name,” they really can’t get away with anything. They sigh their head slamming back into the headrest behind them. “God Dirk”.

 

The older Strider cracks a smile.

 

“See it was really easy,” Dirk replies and the kid side eyes him.

 

“Can we just go home?”

 

“Sure, Dave,” Bro shoot him a wide smile and the kid lets out a laugh.

 

This fit much better and felt better too. Like the correct puzzle piece finally reached home and snapped into place. Dave smiles running a hand through their hair. This felt great.

 

Dirk eventually cut the car’s hazards off and started the car again. His food pressing into the gas. Both the siblings had wide smiles on their face as they pull into a parking space by their complex.

 

“Is that mom?” Dave asks, taking their sunglasses off only to see a woman standing by their apartment building.

 

“Shit.” Dirk rips he keys from the ignition. “Kid stay here,” With that Dirk is getting out of the car and slamming the door closed. Dave quickly unbuttons his seatbelt; they go to reach for the door before his vision settles on her.

 

She’s exactly how Dave remembers her. Tall, blonde and intimidating. She’s gesturing wildly at the car and Dave feels something sinking inside themselves. Dread is settling as they now watch as Dirk tries to talk to her. They can’t hear what the two are saying but it doesn’t sound good.

 

The kid shudders. Their hand is shaking as they clutch the car door. They should go out there. Confront her, or at least see what is going on.

 

_Why was she here? Why won’t my hands stop shaking? I am not scared. Not of Her._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you ever want an RP partner or anything or to talk my Discord it Trystonchan#8552  
> Tumblr (not updated very frequently): @Trystonchan  
> Twitter: @Trystonchan


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